The Village seems poised to become as cheesy in its effects as a low-budget horror film. Shyamalan's gracefulness keeps his movie just out of that abyss.

A great role becomes an unenviable chore, in which a superb comic actress finds herself trying to sell a series of unfunny comic situations by mugging and pushing with all her might. It's an unflattering spectacle for all concerned.

For all its goofiness, director Widen has made a film with some genuinely creepy moments.

Those who just want to watch a cool, competent and only semi-dumb action movie, though, can thank god for small favors like that.

There’s a nude scene that comes out of nowhere that’s almost embarrassing. Why is it there? Like the movie itself, it’s almost daring, except it’s not.

The across-the-board strong performances indicate a sure directorial hand. Everyone is made vivid, down to the smallest roles.

A lively and amiably stupid action movie, given an extra dose of atmosphere by the presence of Vin Diesel. He is his own quality control, his own authentic center, so that even in a story like this — a kind of Philip K. Dick for dummies — there’s something onscreen that’s not ridiculous, that’s reliable and consistently cool.

At its best, it's a good picture, and at its worst, it's almost good.

There is little debauchery to be had in Laurence Dunmore's adaptation of The Libertine. In fact, hedonism has never looked so bleak.

The Losers is boring. It's predictable. It's so, so active, and yet so, so dead.

A mess, and that's really a shame.

A lightweight and sentimental exercise that succeeds at little except maybe inspiring the viewer to go out and find a decent curry.

Coiro, who directed and co-wrote the film with Ritter, has a firm hold on snappish humor and bookish references, but the whole thing sags under a creaky narrative structure.

It's fresh, unexpected and goofy. It's not a smart career move, just a film that its director wanted to make for some crazy reason, and he made it.

Ultimately there's something too measured, too controlled in his film.

More depressing than liberating, but it's never boring.

Earnest, but a work in progress.

This is the downside of Roberts' giant success and her dazzling ability to charm: Every time she goes plain, as she did in the little-seen "Mary Reilly" and "Michael Collins," our princess simply fizzles.

Director-co-writer Gary McKendry seems to know a thing or two about hard-fisted fight scenes, but he muddies up the visuals with obligatory spasms of shaky-cam.

Eric Idle--a royal among sillies--turns in a wonderfully wacky performance.

Fourth Man Out is a coming-out tale with well-worn themes, but its blue-collar spin and appealing cast give it a charm that’s hard to resist.

The good news is you can bring the kids. When it comes time for swimming lessons next summer, there’s nothing they’ll remember from this that’ll make them afraid of the water.

Perhaps worst of all, the movie is painfully long.

Muniz, however, is hampered by Stripes' constant moping, which brings out the "Malcolm in the Middle'' star's whinier tendencies.

The movie doesn't have three brain cells to rub together, but the premise carries it a long way.

Sci-fi has rarely been so playful.

There's no buildup and little shape. Scenes are strong, but the movie as a whole flags.

A small triumph for lowered expectations.